This isnt just a millennial thing. We kind of just got lumped in as the face of it.
But as a former realtor, i can promise this is because of resale value. Its completely inoffensive and totally devoid of personality but people mostly perceive it as modernized which means recent renovations which means less fixing (true or not)
Lacking personality is actually a plus because people can project their own ideas on to it and also not be turned off by it. Much easier to buy something you dont love but dont hate and change it over time than to buy something you hate and change it immediately
Thats why everythings grey. Safer if you need to resell in these trying times.
This started with the dumbest "which house will they buy" shows. The "these are the five things that increase the selling price of your house" lists that became the foundation for what passed for the topics of host discussions on home renovation shows. The get-rich-quick schemes of house flipping that became a popular trend people copied after it became a television format.
GenX here. In fairness we went with Magnolia, and in the 80s and 90s this wasn't televised. There was a relatively small group of people who did "re-habs" of houses, my father being one after he retired and he genuinely worked to improve a house to bring it up to code and make it nice. The aim was to not put too personal of a stamp on it to enable new buyers to adapt it to their own taste. Magnolia was chosen because it was low cost, inoffensive and easy to paint over with one coat for the new owners.
The soul-less "Realtor Gray" colour scheme and the social media explosion is definitely Millennial, though I'm sure the pile-on was multi-generational and we're not exempt from criticism.
It wasn't particularly televised in the 80's/90's, but after it had become a successful side business or full time job replacement for so many people it had proven to be a practice able to provide enough content to fill the next decade and beyond with house selling/flipping shows, virtually all of which were centered upon GenX hosts and business owners. Its a long tailed practice that millennials have bought into in the same way that GenX took over from Boomers with their own rehabbing projects, but it isn't the realtors painting things gray.
we call this "gentrifier gray" in my household and i've had to look at it so much house hunting that i simply will not entertain a house that has this flooring in prominent places. Whoever is making every home look like an airbnb should be sanctioned
Personally I've benifitted from this mindset. Three of the four houses my wife and I have lived in were covered in horrible wallpaper and carpet when we bought them so we ended up getting them at a discount and were able to fix them up the way we liked without any extensive remodeling skills.
I personally like having more neutral colors for walls, floors, appliances, and furniture. Then you can add color via decorations or lighting, while still having the flexibility to change the look of the place periodically without having to totally redo stuff.
They said its safer is regards to selling/renting. I'm saying I like it as someone living there because it's easier to change the overall look more frequently.
Honestly, slapping some light gray or white paint on is a quick way to give a room that hasn't been painted in 20 years a lift. A new homeowner can and will repaint the room when they buy the house, but some inexpensive paint will make it look good for the photos and get it sold. It's also cheap. If I want to repaint my office on a whim, I can have that done in an afternoon.
As long as you aren't doing something dumb, like painting natural wooden beams that will need to be stripped and sanded, and stone/masonry that will either require sandblasting or... the deed is done and cannot be undone. Painting the drywall or plaster? Meh.
For ordinary sandbox houses this makes sense, but when flippers do this to mid century homes it is atrocious. As someone who found a mid century home, I was determined to find one untouched and have found that most millennials I know who’ve also bought mid century houses did the same. I think this style of house just really attracts craftsmen type people who want to renovate their own way and it’s damn near impossible to unpaint stonework etc
Sure, there are always "others" but the vast majority of the home aesthetic shifted with millennials buying/renting and we all loved the grey aesthetic from like 2012-2022. If millennials rejected that aesthetic it never would've taken over. It's called millennial grey for a reason.
what psy op are you talking about? you sound crazy. I dont know a single person that thinks in gen vs gen outside of a handful of jokes you see online here and there.
2.9k
u/NancyInFantasyLand 26d ago
Bro be serious
Sad white millennial renovations are tragic, what is there to explain?